"So," Mai gasped out, slightly out of breath from the mad dash through the halls, "what the hell was all THAT about?"

Taehyung snorted dryly. "THAT, my lady, was Sungmin, only the most cunning and basically evil person in the palace."

"Goodness gracious, she seems terrible," Mai shot a quick glance back.

"Trust me," Jimin huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, pleasant demeanor gone, "she is."

"What was in the vial, Candy Boy?" Mai asked, turning her attention to Jimin. Taehyung choked.

"Did she just call you 'Candy Boy'?" he clapped a hand over his mouth, laughs making his body tremble.

"Shut up, Tae," Jimin muttered, "Not the time."

"So?" Mai demanded, ignoring the blonde prince who was still vibrating with laughter.

"It was a very weak concealing potion," Jimin nodded at Mai, clarifying the issue. "We needed it so Sungmin would forget most of your features, so she couldn't recall you. But it only works without direct eye contact, so that's why I told you not to look at her."

"Good thinking, hyung," Taehyung had recovered from his laughing fit and was now looking approvingly at Jimin.

Mai was still confused. "Wait, but why?"

"Because Sungmin is a spiteful bi- uh, I mean, PERSON," Taehyung corrected himself hasilty as Jimin shot him a glare. "And you were seen with us."

"Ohhhh," a flash of clarity seeped through Mai. She laughed. "Jealous?"

Jimin and Taehyung exchanged a look. "Yeah, in a sense," the blonde prince shrugged at Mai.

"Hey, we can tell you stories about Sungmin all day, sweetheart," Jimin tugged at her arm, pulling her forward. "But you're never going to get the answers you want if we keep dawdling here."

"Okay, okay, let's go," Mai relented. A few moments passed by. "Candy Boy, you don't need to continue to hold my hand."

Jimin withdrew his arm sheepishly. "Sorry,"

A few minutes passed, and the three of them were still walking.

How big IS this place? Holy starfish, way to flex.

She felt another sting in her calf, and a sharp burst of pain in her foot. She winced, limping for half a moment before gritting her teeth and pushing through it. She didn't think Jimin or Taehyung noticed, but she didn't know.

"Yo," Mai called as yet another young lady passed them with hate in her (GRAY) eyes when she glanced at Mai, "can any one of you idiots tell me why everyone here has gray eyes?"

The young lady was probably in earshot to hear at least the first part of her question, and she whirled around, gaping at Mai in shock. Jimin caught that, facepalming and pulling Mai ahead quickly with a firm hand on her back.

"You can't just SAY things like that!" Jimin growled, running a hand through his hair, which made him look really attrac- WAIT NO. "You're going to draw even more attention to yourself than you already are."

Mai narrowed her eyes at his impatient tone, but didn't say anything about it. "Okay," she said simply, fludly rolling her shoulders, "But do you mind answering the question?"

Taehyung caught wind of the conversation and turned back. "You're observant."

"And if you were even from this world, you would know the answer to that already," Jimin murmured to himself. Mai let out a sign of exasperation.

"Well, I think I've made it clear that I am NOT, so-"

"Hey, no need to get testy, darling, we'll tell you," Taehyung tilted his head at her, smirking.

"Don't call me that," Mai snapped. Taehyung snickered at her irritation.

"ANYWAY," Jimin jumped in, clearly trying to prevent an argument, "we all have gray eyes because we're from the Kingdom of Esterie. And before you ask," Jimi shot a look at Mai, who was already opening her mouth, "we don't know why, but the old legends say the Star Queen was tired of seeing people who had different mindsets continue to fight with each other from being exposed to each other for so long, so she divided us by our character traits and gave us eyes that matched everyone else, so the continuous conflicts would never happen again."

Taehyung was making a very sour expression.

"Let me guess," Mai laughed, tilting her head at Taehyung, "you don't agree."

"OF COURSE I DON'T," he snapped. "Separating us didn't prevent conflicts! It just made them on a much bigger scale! And besides, the people from the other kingdoms are really nice too, but only us nobles actually get to meet each other- the commoners still think that they're all horrible! And we keep feeding them the lies that-"

"Tae," Jimin put a hand on his shoulder, speaking gently and yet urgently, a flicker of fear in his eyes. "If anyone heard you, they'd arrest you for treason."

Saying Mai was uneasy would be putting it gently.

Things here... and much more complicated than I thought.

Mai watched as a silent conversation unravelled between the two of them, fighting every urge to jump out the nearest window and hope for the best.

"In any case," Taehyung took a deep breath, tearing his eyes from Jimin and looking back at Mai, "Esterie is the kingdom of inventors, scientists, architects, and basically intellectuals," Taehyung flashed the back of his hand to Mai- god, that boy had really nice fingers-, lifting Jimin's as well. On each of their pointer fingers was a slender ring shaped like a snake, the silver serpent embellished with black. "Everyone- well, everyone in the palace, at least- has one of these, because the symbol of our kingdom is the snake.

"The next Kingdom is Leoris, the Kingdom of the Leopard, known for their grace and kindness. They are an even-minded people, both strong and hospitable. Their eye colour is gold, and they have a gold bracelet of a leopard.

"Next, there is Mistev, the Kingdom of the Eagle, known for their pure brawn and justice. They are typically both clever and strong but are known for their unwillingness to take sides. Their eye colour is blue, and they have a pendant of a Lapiz eagle feather.

"Finally, there is Oceier, the Kingdom of the Fox. They are known for their cunning and cleverness. They are also a kingdom of many thieves. They are incredibly smart, like us, but use their cleverness for fighting, most of the time. Their eyes are red-orange, and their symbol is the anklet with a topaz fox-tail charm."

"Ah, my little cousin has been studying hard!" Jimin said teasingly, ruffling Taehyung's hair. They then engaged in a little tussle as the latter whined and pushed him away.

"Hyung!" he protested, shying away from the shorter man in embarrassment. Mai giggled a little bit at the scene, earning a pleased look from both princes.

"Oh, yeah, Tae, you forgot to mention a little thing about that legend, remember?" Jimin suddenly stopped his ministrations and stepped back as if a thought had suddenly struck him.

"Oh come on, that's just a story to keep the children entertained," Taehyung scoffed. "Like, seriously? A warrior with brown eyes that can change colors that will finally unite the-"

He froze.

It was only a flash of something in his eyes, something that vanished in an instant, but it was there. Fear.

Fear... of me?

"Brown eyes," Mai echoed, making her tone as light as possible, "Brown eyes that change color? Hate to break it to you, but, as you can see, my eyes don't change color,"

She snorted, effectively diffusing the tension.

"Yeah," he laughed, shaking is head as if to shake thoughts out of it, "a children's story-slash-poem we call the Ghost of Stars-"

The words rang in Mai's head long after Taehyung had moved on from the sentence.

Ghost of stars...

Ghost of stars...

An ear splitting scream rang through Mai's head as she tossed and turned in her sleep.

The Star Queen's GHOST!

Ears ringing, Mai's vision suddenly turned hazy.

"Mai?"

There was something going on here. This place, this dimension- there was something underneath the surface of it. She knew, she could feel it tugging at her, although she didn't know what.

She was scared.

Being scared wasn't a feeling Mai was used to. She could be irritated, uneasy, angry, disappointed- but being truly scared was something she could usually stop. It was a kind of switch mai could turn on and off, just by thinking logically. But here? Nothing was logical to her anymore, she didn't know the workings, the strings.

She was lost, and she was scared.

"If I go to your king," Mai spoke softly into the silence that had ensued after she had stopped listening, "If I go to your king, will you be able to take me home?"

Her voice had dropped its bravado. It was quiet and meek and ever-so-slightly terrified.

"We... we can try," Jimin took one look at her pale face and his own contorted in pity.

Mai inhaled, even the air in her lungs feeling unfamiliar, and felt her courage spike. She was scared because she didn't have any knowledge or know-how about this place. She was strange, from the dark-ish color of her skin to her brown eyes to her personality, she was floundering around like a hippo amidst a bunch of sleek fish.

An image of a hippo floating serenely in a river popped in her mind. She swore the pink animal eyed her with scorn.

Fine, then. Not a hippo. A galumphing, one-legged ostrich plunked in the middle of the Pacific ocean, how about that?

But even though she was so out-of-place here, she wouldn't let herself drown.

She was still Mai Jaspal. And that was one woman who could truly live. If she could live back there, she could hang on here.

"Alright then," her voice came out stronger than she expected. "Let's just get there already! I swear to god, you princes and your ridiculously large palaces- where is the damn room anyway?"

She LITERALLY had a giant hole in her leg and she still had to walk this far.

The frickety fracking DISRESPECT.

"The 'damn room', as you call it," Taehyung snickered, clearly relieved that Mai was back to her previous self, "is right here." Taehyung stopped in front of a large doorstep at the end of the wide hallway, two guards flanking it.

"Mai, PLEASE, PLEASE do not make sarcastic remarks and in front of the king. He-" Jimin began, pulling Mai aside, but Mai chuckled and brushed him off.

"Don't worry, Candy Boy. I give respect where it's due," she smirked, and walked swiftly towards the door, leaving Taehyung and Jimin to find the hidden insult in her words.

"Hey-" Jimin suddenly cried, as Taehyung laughed.

"I do believe she just insulted you, cousin," he snickered. Mai wheeled around and smirked. The young prince leaned toward her and shot her a disarmingly handsome smile.

"I think I quite like you, darling," he chuckled huskily, stepping closer to Mai, who felt her heart thudding in her chest. When she noticed, Her face screwed up in disgust.

"Huh. Funny, I can't say the same thing about you," she shoved the blonde haired prince away, who looked fairly shocked. Jimin snorted, slapping a hand on his mouth to prevent himself from laughing. Taehyung shot him a disgruntled look, and Mai chuckled.

The prince huffed and turned towards the door once more. This was strange. Mai felt a slightly comfortable feeling around the bickering boys.

Aha.

She was homesick. She missed her friends.

She was scared. She missed her security.

She was forcing herself to be brave. She missed not having to.

What a LOUSY birthday.

"My father is unwell," Taehyung began, dragging her out of her thoughts, "so please, be patient with him." Mai nodded in response.

The prince nodded to the guards, who waved for him to enter.

Mai followed the prince into the unreasonably large room. It was extraordinarily lavish, a large four poster bed in the middle of the wall opposite to the door. There were floor to ceiling windows on the right wall, and many other pieces of decoration that seemed completely unneeded (why was there an entire LIVING ROOM set in the far corner?) were scattered around in a formation that looked fairly elegant.

Mai trailed behind Taehyung as Jimin came beside her, and squeezed her hand reassuringly before letting go. Mai shot him a dark look and pulled her hand close to her, making him chuckle softly.

"Ah, my son," a soft, raspy voice, strained with pain, echoed through the large- and yet empty- room. Mai felt a twinge of pity twist her heart.

"I am here, father," Taehyung rushed to his side, his flirty self gone. He looked... vulnerable. Uncertain. Scared.

I know how you feel.

"Hello, Jimin," the king's dull gray eyes shifted to the stocky boy, his lips twisting slightly. It was shocking how much the king looked like Taehyung, but with a thinner face and features- kind of like Taeyong, Mai recalled. The king couldn't have been that old, but creases on his face and gray hairs scattered through his black locks made him seem far older than he should have.

"Uncle," Jimin sank to one knee, bowing at the sprawled figure in the bed before standing up.

"Jimin, you don't need to-" Taehyung started, but at Jimin's warning glance, he fell silent.

"My son is correct, nephew, but if it makes you more comfortable, then it is alright," the king half-smiled at Jimin, who nodded back. His gaze finally fell on Mai, who was standing there, in the middle of the room, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. "And who is this?"

The king's gray eyes were glazed and bloodshot, but they still gleamed with a sort of sharpness that sized Mai up from head to toe to ordinary (well, apparently here they weren't so ordinary) brown eyes.

"Hmm," he pursed his lips, trying to sit up before falling limply back. Taehyung instantly held his arm, along with Jimin, and the two eased him into a sitting position. "Well, considering everything that has happened over the past few months, and the messages we have been receiving from her home over the years, it seems we've found her."

"Reciev- what are you talking about?" Mai demanded, bells sounding the alarm in her head that things were just going to go downhill from here.

"Mai," Jimin's voice was stern. His reminder for her to be polite made its way up slowly, and she snapped her mouth shut, taking a deep breath.

"It's alright, Jimin. I wouldn't expect her to be calm at a time like this," the king admonished. "My name is Jaeyoon, but most people call me 'Your Majesty', for obvious reasons. And I would like to apologize in advance for what is going to happen to you, although it is truly no one's fault. You have a long road ahead of you, but I cannot see it."

Mai listened to this with a sense of detachment and quite a few thoughts. Apparently the king had a sense of humor, apparently she was in trouble, and apparently she had no one to blame.

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

"Reveal," was all the king said, and with a feeble wave of his hand, all hell broke loose.

Taehyung looked at her and promptly fell over, his grey eyes widening in astonishment and horror. She turned to look at Jimin in confusion, and when he met her eyes, he too stumbled backward, breathing heavily, panic flickering through his own.

"I-I don't understand-" Ma I asked, running her hands over her face. "What's wrong?"

"You- father, she-"

"Uncle, she cannot-"

"My lady," King Jaeyoon smiled weakly, "It seems we have found the Warrior of Stars, the last remaining Mien,"

"What?" Mai gasped. The king smiled weakly at her and handed her a small, handheld mirror. She took it from his hands quickly, wanting to see what everyone was dying over.

She stared into the piece of glass that reflected her expression.

Mai's eyes widened.

Her eyes.

They shifted colors, from her usual chocolate brown to amber to all sorts of shades of blue and green and red.

Mai's hand slackened.

Eyes that shift colors.

"No, no, no, you've got it all wrong-" Mai stumbled back, eyes flashing at a dizzying rate, panic swirling through them as fast as the colors that changed. Her grip slackened on the mirror.

She could barely hear, barely THINK anything, blood rushing through her ears and blocking all sound.

The mirror slipped from her fingers, shattering as it met the stone floor, but Mai didn't care.

Her nightmares were coming true.

NO!

"Welcome to Aericra, Warrior,"

A/N:

Heyyyyyyyy

Whats up glitches

Guess who got another chapter done? YES, YOUR GIRL DID IT, I FINISHED THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER AND ADDED SO MUCH MORE BECAUSE I NOW KNOW SOME THINGS ARE GOING TO MAKE ITS WAY INTO THE STORY SOME DAYYYY

Your girl is finally planning ahead!

I know this story was supposed to be super lighthearted and I want to keep it that way, but I also want a little bit of creepy stuff and an actual conflict and also some relatable people- some you hate (cough SUNGMIN) and some you really like (cough SOME PEOPLE THAT WILL COME LATER)

I couldn't say this in the beginning cuz it wouldn't be true, but I FINALLY HAVE A PLOT!

Hooryayyyyyy!

So yeah, I'm really happy. I hope you guys like the story so far! I purple you, Lovelies!

-MyOwnA.R.M.Y